Have used the Eld X line of bullets 200 and 212 30 cal bullets since their introduction. What I have found with them shooting out of a 300 Rum, Is anything inside of 450 yards blows up like a grenade. Shots beyond the bullet holds together and mushrooms. I have a lot of experience between myself and others harvesting 40 plus cow elk and 20 plus deer with this rifle and combination. There is a fine line between long range performance and close range "durability". I am however not personally impressed by the performance on game ( yes absolutely killed everything), but for what I consider to be a great hunting bullet it falls short. I believe it is better suited to be fired from rifles with 2800fps or slower muzzle velocities if you are trying to achieve reliable expansion. Can't wait to get lit up over that. So if your looking for it to mushroom you better shoot past 400 yards, inside of that it's going to fragment and you will be hard pressed to find much bigger pieces of jacket than what you have recovered. As you noticed, you can count on not having much external bleeding from animals, but it does do a number on the internals. Accurate bullet yes, easy to load yes. I'd give it a 6.8 rating out of 10. In my opinion there are much better bullets to hunt with, that is why I choose to not shoot them anymore.
212 ELDX results
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Tidus56
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This is my same findings.
rharfo
Well-Known Member
This is the info I was looking for when I created the thread. Thank you for sharing and confirming my thoughts.
All bullets have "apparent" terminal performance failures. All of them.
All company's use marketing hype about their bullets. All of them.....including the mom and pop boutique shops that have very loyal followings on this very forum and for good reason. Hammer Badlands Berger come to mind. I myself am a huge supporter of these as well. But they all hype their products. There is a difference between marketing hype and overtly false info.
If your looking to get a consensus on any popular hunting bullet, it will end in failure.
The great thing is we have more choices today than the past.
All company's use marketing hype about their bullets. All of them.....including the mom and pop boutique shops that have very loyal followings on this very forum and for good reason. Hammer Badlands Berger come to mind. I myself am a huge supporter of these as well. But they all hype their products. There is a difference between marketing hype and overtly false info.
If your looking to get a consensus on any popular hunting bullet, it will end in failure.
The great thing is we have more choices today than the past.
Yes! There is no one bullet for all situations - no such thing as a magic bullet, and Murphy does not discriminate.
Creedmoor shooter
Well-Known Member
I've seen the 200 eld-x run from the chest and exit out the rear ham of a bear shot under 100 yards. I'd be interested to know where the fragments were collected at. If they were on the off side then to me the bullet 100% did its job.
rharfo
Well-Known Member
One of the fragments was found by digging around with my finger in the entrance hole the larger one was found laying in the chest cavity after pulling the guts out. Bear was skinned with guts in. After taking front shoulders, rear quarters and back straps off for a veteran in need I dug around in the guts.
7.62 Gunner
Well-Known Member
Sounds perfect to me, you want a handgrenade effect after initial penetration for quick kills
I'd keep using them
Calvin45
Well-Known Member
Haha I just admitted to either preferring a heavy frangible or light mono but will say for a one size fits all magic bullet the the federal trophy bonded tip and newer terminal ascent has to be about as close as it gets.
Stonyman88
Well-Known Member
Post it please, gotta luv the ELD-X AND M'S,, The M's will hold together a little better, but the x's are great seeds.
Stonyman88
Well-Known Member
Personally I like to see them go down or only travel a short distance, shot many White tails with the ELD-X 143 Gr, and they never disappoint. If you like pass thru seeds, then try the ELD-M, but you may be tracking a bit. Shot one white tail at 278yds, he buckled a bit, took 2 steps and fell over, no exit but who cares, I'm kinda sick of tracking deer in fall leaves, you like pass thru shoot a 50 cal.
brant89
Well-Known Member
Not the 212gr, but I've had only one bad experience with the 200gr ELD-X on a black bear and it was 100% poor shot placement. MV is 2940fps, kill count is as follows. Pronghorn @ 220yd - baseball size exit, pronghorn @ 380yd quartered extremely hard - 22-24" of penetration, no exit, DRT with excessive internal damage, whitetail doe @ 552yd - DRT, wt doe @ 487yd - golf ball size exit, lots of internal damage, wt doe @ 529yd, golf ball size exit and borderline excessive internal damage, wt doe @ 311yd, baseball size exit with lung tissue falling out everywhere. Nothing has been difficult to track after being hit them. YMMV
7.62 Gunner
Well-Known Member
Person kills with ELD-X bullets
- wife's elk 670yr 30-28 nosler 212eldx impact velocity 2300fps with exit hole. lungs were jello
- My WY antelope 740yrs 6.5x47 143 eldx. Impact velocity 1700fps. Bang flop. Exit hole. Shot a little far back. Liver and rear tip of lungs were a nice thick liquid.
- 200lb wild pig (pre CA lead ban)300 yards 284win 162 eldx. Again bang flop. Exit hole. lungs were complete goo.
A whole laundry list of friends kills with ELDx bullets from 6.5 143s, 7mm 162s/175s, 30 212s. Zeros failures and all Exit holes with vitals turned to mush.
I'd say this was a fluke. I had extreme blood shot with a Hammer Hunter 155. They say HH don't blood shot. The only one in 6 animals that had blood shot meat. Weird stuff happens. ELDx are my go to for out of state hunting. Since I have to shoot copper in my stupid state.
- wife's elk 670yr 30-28 nosler 212eldx impact velocity 2300fps with exit hole. lungs were jello
- My WY antelope 740yrs 6.5x47 143 eldx. Impact velocity 1700fps. Bang flop. Exit hole. Shot a little far back. Liver and rear tip of lungs were a nice thick liquid.
- 200lb wild pig (pre CA lead ban)300 yards 284win 162 eldx. Again bang flop. Exit hole. lungs were complete goo.
A whole laundry list of friends kills with ELDx bullets from 6.5 143s, 7mm 162s/175s, 30 212s. Zeros failures and all Exit holes with vitals turned to mush.
I'd say this was a fluke. I had extreme blood shot with a Hammer Hunter 155. They say HH don't blood shot. The only one in 6 animals that had blood shot meat. Weird stuff happens. ELDx are my go to for out of state hunting. Since I have to shoot copper in my stupid state.
